The Mar Menor Canoe Tragedy: A Teen’s Disappearance and the Search
At the start of the month, a 15-year-old boy, Ivo Petrov, disappeared after the canoe he was in capsized in the Mar Menor. The body was recovered later in the week, twenty days into the ongoing search, and was transported to the Los Alcázares Air Base in Murcja. The long, exhausting rescue operation involved multiple agencies and resources deployed to locate the teen and provide aid to others who were involved in the incident.
For days, authorities and families waited as a large-scale recovery effort unfolded. Rescue teams from the Copla Plan, Coastal Rescue and Recovery, and Sea Rescue, along with helicopters and cadaver dogs trained to detect human remains, joined the search. Smaller boats, specialized divers, and additional crews took part in the ongoing effort, which intensified as time passed without a confirmed sighting of Petrov.
The sequence of events in brief
The incident began with a morning on January 5 when two friends, José David and Francisco, were on a boat with Petrov. They raised the alarm after the canoe overturned in the waters near Mar Menor. Two others in the group were rescued alive and transported to hospital, where they were treated for hypothermia. The survivors described the moment of the accident: none of them could swim, and they were in the water for roughly two hours before being found by nearby rescuers.
Early on Friday morning, a call came into 112 from a Los Alcázares resident near the pier who heard cries for help coming from the water. The sound was attributed to the boys calling for help from the sea, intensifying the urgency of the rescue operation and prompting a broader mobilization of resources.
On the water: two agents lead the search
Emergency services reported that a Local Police patrol arrived at the scene and verified the witness account. Sources close to the case described how two agents—a Local Police officer and a Civil Guard member—issued a call for support from the Maritime Club to scour the sea. A municipal Civil Protection rescue boat, along with a rescue boat from the Los Alcázares Maritime Club, were mobilized. By 03:25, two young people, aged 16 and 22, were evacuated to the port and handed to medical services for assessment. An ambulance with paramedics was waiting at the port to care for the youths as investigators continued to search for Petrov, who remained missing and is believed to have been in the canoe with the others.
As the operation progressed, ambulances and emergency medical teams attended to the two survivors, who were conscious and able to describe the events. The search modus operandi expanded to include land, sea, and air components, with local police, Civil Security units, the Red Cross, Civil Protection ships, and the Sea Rescue helicopter among those deployed. A second helicopter joined the effort, while cadets and instructors from the General Air Academy (AGA) also participated by coordinating on a boat. The search strategy emphasized a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach to account for every possible location of the missing teenager.
The recovery of the canoe itself became a critical piece of the investigation. The vessel was found and brought to the Los Alcázares port. Early indications suggested that the canoe did not belong to the missing youths and may have been abandoned or misused in the chaotic moments following the capsizing. Investigators from the Local Police and other authorities opened a formal inquiry to determine the circumstances surrounding the vessel and the broader incident. The case has raised questions about safety measures on small craft and the protocols followed during emergency responses in the Mar Menor region.
Throughout the days and nights of the search, families and local residents followed developments closely, hoping for a positive outcome. The authorities emphasized that while progress had been made in locating the canoe and identifying other pieces of the incident, the primary objective remained the safe recovery of Petrov and a full understanding of what transpired on that day in the marshy coastal waters of Mar Menor. The investigation continues to piece together the events leading up to the capsizing and the sequence of actions taken by the rescuers in response to the distress calls. All updates are expected to inform safety recommendations for maritime activities in this popular area.